Table of Contents

Introduction.........................................................................................................................................2

Gate Turn Off Thyristor.....................................................................................................................3

Gate Turn Off Thyristor (GTO) Circuit Symbol:.............................................................................4

Gate Turn Off Thyristor (GTO) Structure:......................................................................................5

Gate Turn Off Thyristor (GTO) V-I Characteristics:......................................................................7

Advantages...........................................................................................................................................8

Disadvantages......................................................................................................................................8

Application...........................................................................................................................................9

Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................10

Reference............................................................................................................................................11
Introduction

A thyristor is a solid-state semiconductor device that is not a fully regulated switch. This can
be operated in the following way: it can be turned on using a gate terminal, but it cannot be
turned off using a gate terminal. When the thyristor switch is on, it will not turn off even if
the gate pulses are disconnected. As a result, there is no way to turn off the thyristor switch.
The switch will be switched off after the main current has been disconnected. As a result, it's
difficult to use in applications where the main supply shouldn't be interrupted. Conversion of
DC-AC and DC-DC circuits, for example. To deactivate the thyristor, a costly and large
communication circuit must be utilized. The GTO (Gate Turn-Off Thyristor) technology is
utilized to solve this problem. It's a current-controlled device that works similarly to a
thyristor. An overview of a Gate Turn off Thyristor, its construction, circuit symbol, and V-I
characteristics will be discussed in this assignment.
Gate Turn Off Thyristor

A Gate Turn Off Thyristor (GTO) is a power semiconductor device that may be switched on
and off by passing current through its gate. It is a pn pn device that is switched on by
applying positive gate current to the gate cathode terminal and turned off by applying
negative gate current to the gate cathode terminal. It is evident from Figure 1 below that the
gate of the GTO thyristor consists of two arrows which represents the bidirectional flow of
current through the gate terminal. It also differentiates a GTO from a regular type thyristor.
A conventional thyristor (CT) is a suitable switch for power electronic applications, as we all
know. A gate signal is used to turn a CT on. However, a commutation circuit is necessary to
turn it off, making it big and expensive for many power electronic applications. The Gate
Turn Off thyristor was created to solve this problem with ordinary thyristors.

To switch off a GTO, no commutation circuit is necessary. Only the Gate signal is used to
turn it on and off. To turn it on, a positive gate signal is used, and to turn it off, a negative
gate signal with suitable amplitude is used. As a result, it is both cost-effective and small. Let
us now look at the Gate Turn Off Thyristor's construction.

A GTO is also a non-latching device that may be built with the same current and voltage
ratings as a Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR).

There are two types of GTOs on the market: those that can handle symmetric voltage and
those that can handle asymmetric voltage. Because they have comparable forward and
reverse blocking capacities, symmetric GTOs are so named. This type of inverter is often
used in current source inverters, however it is sluggish. Asymmetric GTOs are the polar
opposites, with differing forward and reverse blocking characteristics. Because it has a
reduced on-stage voltage drop and superior thermal properties, this type is more widely
utilized.

Gate Turn Off Thyristor (GTO) Circuit Symbol:

Gate Turn Off Thyristor (GTO) Structure:

A Gate Turn Off Thyristor (GTO) is a PNPN device with three terminals. Anode (A),
Cathode (K), and Gate (G) are the three terminals (G). GTO's basic structure is depicted in
Figure 2.

Figure 2

As illustrated in Figure 2, the four layers are p+ np+ n+. The anode in GTO is made up of a
p+ layer with n+ type fingers dispersed throughout. Keep in mind that this is not the case
with a standard thyristor. The anode of a traditional thyristor is made entirely of p type
materials. The anode terminal of this sort of thyristor is made up of a p+ layer with n+ type
fingers distributed across it.

This thyristor's N+ layer is heavily doped to achieve high emitter efficiency and serves as a
cathode terminal. As a result, the breakdown voltage of a junction like J3 is low, and the
usual breakdown voltage varies from 20 to 40V. To maintain great emitter efficiency, the P-
layer doping level must be kept low. Similarly, substantial region doping is required for
effective switch OFF qualities. The connection between the P+ anode and the N base is
known as the anode junction. A P+ anode area that is extensively doped to attain the
attributes of a good switch ON can be used to create a high-efficiency anode junction.
However, such GTOs have an impact on the ability to turn off.

As a result, this problem can be overcome by beginning N+ layers within the P+ anode layer
that are strongly doped at regular intervals. As a result, this N+ layer will establish direct
contact with the N layer at junction J1. As a result, electrons from the P+ anode may be
transported from the base area to the anode metal contact without triggering hole injection,
resulting in a GTO structure with anode shorted. The GTO's reverse blocking capacity can be
lowered near the reverse breakdown voltage of the J3 junction as a result of these anode
shorts, allowing the turn OFF device to be enhanced. However, by employing several anode
shorts, the anode junction's efficiency can be lowered, lowering the GTO's switch ON
performance. For a successful switch ON/OFF performance, careful consideration of the
anode shorts density is required.

Gate Turn Off Thyristor (GTO) Operation:

The GTO works in the same way as a traditional thyristor in terms of operation. The electrons
can be created from the cathode terminal to the anode after the positive gate current is
delivered to make the anode terminal positive to the cathode terminal. As a result, using an
anode terminal in the base area, the hole injection is induced. Until the gate switch off
thyristor approaches the conduction area, these electrons and holes will continue to be
injected.

Conduction begins in a thyristor by turning on the cathode area next to the gate terminal. As a result,
the remaining area joins the conduction through plasma spreading.

Unlike a thyristor, a gate turn off thyristor has thin cathode components that are densely interdigitated
through the gate terminal, resulting in a huge early switched ON zone and limited plasma spreading.
As a result, the gate quickly switches off the thyristor as it enters the conduction zone.

A reverse bias can be used at the gate terminal to turn off a conducting thyristor by turning the gate
terminal negative in comparison to the cathode. A percentage of the holes in the P-layer can be
removed using the gate terminal to prevent electron injection from the cathode terminal.

As a result, the gate terminal can eliminate an additional hole current, giving the cathode terminal
more control over electrons. Finally, the voltage drop across the p-base junction might create reverse
bias in the gate's cathode junction, deactivating the thyristor.

The p-base area is gradually depleted throughout the hole extraction process, allowing the conduction
zone to be compressed. As long as this technique is followed, the anode current will be supplied in
remote places by generating filaments with a high current density. As a result, restricted hot patches
may develop, which may harm the gadget if the filaments are not quickly extinguished.

These filaments are promptly extinguished with the strong negative gate voltage application. The
anode terminal to gate current continues to flow despite the cathode current being interrupted because
of the stored charge in the N base region. As a result, this is referred to when a tail current, which
decomposes exponentially as the surplus charge carriers are reduced by recombination.

When the tail current is reduced to a leakage current level, the device retains its forwarding blocking
capabilities.
Gate Turn Off Thyristor (GTO) V-I Characteristics:

A Gate Turn Off thyristor (GTO) has V-I characteristics that are comparable to those of a
conventional thyristor (CT). The latching current of a GTO, on the other hand, is many times
that of a CT. The latching current is on the order of 2 A, whereas a standard thyristor's is
roughly 100 mA to 200 mA. GTO's V-I characteristics are depicted in Figure 3 below:

Figure 3

The features of a conventional thyristor are comparable to those of a V-I thyristor. Forward
Blocking Mode, Forward Conduction Mode, Reverse Blocking Mode, and Reverse
Conduction Mode are the four modes or regions that make up the characteristics.

Only the voltage across the GTO is applied in forward blocking mode, and the positive gate
signal is not applied. As a result, it does not operate in the forward blocking mode. However,
there is a modest forward leakage current that is much greater than a thyristor's forward
leakage current. In reality, the GTO functions like a high voltage low gain transistor in
forward blocking mode, which means that the anode current will be minimal. It's worth
noting that in forward blocking mode, GTO can only block rated forward voltage if the gate
terminal is negatively biased with respect to the cathode.

When the GTO is forward biased and a positive gate signal of adequate amplitude is supplied,
it enters forward conduction mode. When a reverse voltage is put across a GTO, it blocks the
reverse voltage up to a certain point, but once it hits a crucial value, known as the reverse
breakover voltage, the GTO begins to conduct in the other way. If the gate is negatively
biased and the operating period is short, this method of operation will not harm the device.

The blocking capability of GTO under reverse biased conditions is determined by the kind of
GTO. Asymmetric GTOs have a low reverse blocking capability on the order of 20 V to 30
V, but symmetric GTOs have a high reverse blocking capability.
GTO Thyristor Multisim Circuit Simulation and Analysis:
Advantages

 Strong switching ability

 There is no requirement for a commutation circuit.
 Operation that requires no maintenance
 Strong blocking voltage capabilities
 High efficiency
 At switch ON, greater di/dt ratings

Disadvantages

 The loss associated with the ON-state voltage drop is greater.

 The losses in the gate drive circuit are higher.
 Latching and holding currents are larger in size.
 When compared to the current needed by a traditional SCR, the triggering gate current
is greater.
Application

 Chopper control devices, as well as inverter 

 AC and DC drives (variable speed motor drives)
 Traction
 Power supply with AC stabilization
 Breaker for a DC circuit
 Heating via induction
Conclusion

In conclusion the Gate Turn-Off (GTO) Thyristor may be simulated in Multisim to show its
switch ON and OFF properties.
Reference

1. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.electronicshub.org/gate-turn-off-thyristor/

2. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/electronic_components/scr/thyristor-gate-turn-
off.php
3. Rashid, Muhammad H., Power Electronics: Devices, Circuits, and Applications, Fourth
Edition, Pearson Education, 2014, Pg. 467-520.

4. Harte, Daniel W., Power Electronics, New York, The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., 2011,
Pg. 7-8, 18-20.

5. Williams, Barry W., Principles and Elements of Power Electronics, Barry W. Williams, 2006,
Pg. 119-120